Pros Pick: Weidman vs. Silva 2

Anderson Silva seeks to avenge the only knockout loss of his
career. | Photo: Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

For one, the rematch represents a shot at validation. For the
other, it serves an opportunity to enhance an already historic
legacy.

Chris
Weidman will defend his
Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight crown against
former titleholder Anderson
Silva in the UFC
168 main event on Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las
Vegas. Weidman captured the 185-pound championship a little less
than six months ago, when he ended the reign of “The Spider” with a
stunning second-round knockout at UFC 162.

Sherdog.com touched base with a number of professional fighters and
trainers to gauge their opinions on the UFC 168 headliner:

Johny
Hendricks: I’m going with Anderson in this one. I
think he will be coming back to make a statement with a TKO.

Robert Follis: I think Silva wins this one. I
don’t see him taking this lightly like he did their last encounter.
He wins by KO in round one or two.

Vinny
Magalhaes: I believe that Weidman is too good at two
things that might be Anderson’s weaknesses, which are wrestling and
grappling. I believe that if he can take the fight to the ground,
he wouldn’t probably miss the chance of finishing the fight there,
like it happened in their first fight. I do believe that Anderson
is the better striker. Maybe the KO in the first fight was a fluke,
but judging the matchup as whole, I’d have to say that Weidman has
more tools to win the fight again. With that being said, my pick is
Weidman by submission.

Colton
Smith: The champ retains his title using a
well-calculated and executed game plan en route to a five-round
decision victory.

Jeff
Hougland: I already got my tickets for this one. It’s
going to be a great night of fights. I like Weidman’s style better.
I think he could beat Silva by submission, decision or KO,
obviously. The only way I see Silva winning is by KO. I’m going
with Weidman by TKO in the third round.

Bristol
Marunde: We know Weidman is going to show up to fight;
he has tremendous momentum and he’s undefeated. The question is
what state of mind is Silva in? Once a fighter loses his
motivation, he is all but finished. Looking at the long successful
career of Anderson, I cannot deny his gift for combat and his
desire to be the best; therefore, I must pick Anderson to defeat
Weidman.

Chris
Clements: I think Weidman gets the W. The only way I
thought Anderson could’ve won last time was by acting crazy like he
did and luring Weidman into his game. It was working until Anderson
got caught, but I think Chris will have watched the fight and
learned his lesson about striking with Anderson. I think this time
Chris utilizes his wrestling game and controls all five rounds.

Mitch
Clarke: I’m picking Weidman to keep the pressure on
Silva throughout and win by decision.

J.J.
Ambrose: The first fight was a shocker. Anderson went
above and beyond his normal antics in the ring. He’s a great
showman and often looks bored during his fights, as if opponents
don’t have anything to offer him. Weidman showed him the error of
his ways by knocking him out. I’m expecting an angry and very
motivated Silva to win via TKO in the first or second round.

Zach
Makovsky: Silva can do things that no one else can do.
This ability is his most amazing quality. However, the bottom line
is that Weidman possesses a skill set that matches up very well
against Anderson. Silva is capable of beating anyone, but I think
if they fought 10 times, Weidman wins the majority of them. I’ll
take the champ by submission.

Mike
Ciesnolevicz: Silva will come out and show why he is
the second-best fighter of all-time behind Fedor Emelianenko. Even
though Weidman won the first fight, I do not believe he is the
better fighter. Anderson lost the first fight by being careless
more than Weidman actually won. Don’t get me wrong, I think Weidman
is top 5 middleweight, but I am predicting a more serious Anderson
with something to prove this time around. I would be surprised if
Weidman makes it out of the first round. Anderson wins by KO.

Gabe
Ruediger: I got the last one wrong, but I think
Anderson has got this one. In the last fight, Anderson had to play
a lot for him to make that mistake. I think a motivated Anderson is
a scary Anderson. Laser-guided Anderson wins in the second
round.

Jason
Dent: Who I want to win and who I think will win is
definitely different here. My brains say Weidman while my heart is
with Silva. I hope I end up being wrong, but I believe Chris’
wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills will be too much for
Anderson. When you couple Chris’ ground skills with his heavy hands
and willingness to get right in your face, it makes him the worst
possible matchup for Anderson. I believe Weidman will find a way to
submit Anderson before the fight is over after Anderson gets
frustrated by Chris’ takedowns and ground-and-pound. Again, I
really hope to be wrong on this pick because I’m a really huge
Silva fan.

Keith
Berry: I’d love to see Weidman take it again. I’m very
excited for this card.

Cameron
Diffley: I see this fight going one of two ways:
Anderson stops Weidman in the first or second round due to superior
footwork and striking, or Weidman takes it by TKO or decision due
to hard work if it goes past the second.

Ben
Saunders: Weidman wins by submission or decision.
Silva wins by KO or decision. Either way, this is the “Fight of the
Year,” in my opinion.

T.J.
Waldburger: Since Silva was knocked out, he should
come into this fight much more serious; and Weidman will be
confident but hopefully not overconfident. I can see Weidman taking
this fight, as well, using more of his wrestling and
ground-and-pound.

Robert
Drysdale: I’m a Weidman fan. I met him a few times and
he’s a nice guy, and I’m one of the few that had my money on him
when he first fought Anderson. I picked him because Anderson had
the title for like five straight years, is a celebrity all over the
place, has his money -- all these things. I think he was burned out
and I could see a guy in his position kind of being tired of where
he’s at. It had to get old having people all over you asking for
autographs and all that stuff. Plus, he’s almost 39 years old and
did everything he wanted to. Not taking anything away from Weidman
or his win, but I think there was an element of self-boycott, and
he was just like, “Go ahead and take my title. I’m through with
this. I’m tired.” I don’t know ... I could be wrong. I’m not a
sports psychologist by any means. If the motivated and focused
Anderson shows up for the next match, he’s got a really good shot
of beating him. He’d probably be the favorite to beat Weidman, but
he’s got to really want it. If he comes back with that fire and
really wants to win, I think he’s got a much better shot of beating
Weidman. I think he’s really close to retiring and I don’t think he
wants to go down with a loss. I think this is his signature fight,
and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins and then retires right after
the fight.